Sustained Bargain Hunting Lifts Capitalisation Further By N30Bn

Trading on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) continued in an upbeat manner yesterday, occasioned by bargain hunting in the shares of some blue-chip companies, causing market capitalisation to appreciate further by N30 billion.

Yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 56.44 absolute points, representing a growth of 0.14 per cent to close at 40,221.30 points. Similarly, the overall market capitalisation value rose by N30 billion to close at N21.044 trillion.

The uptrend was also driven by price appreciation in medium and large capitalised stocks amongst which are; Oando, Associated Bus Company, Japaul Gold and Ventures, Royal Exchange and Academy Press.

Meanwhile, the recent announcement of the nullification of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) suspension of Oando’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), in a ruling presided over by Justice O A Musa, at the High Court of the FCT, the shares of the oil marketing giant jumped from N3.18 kobo on Tuesday, February 23, 2021, to N3.41 on Wednesday, February 24, 2021.

At the end of transactions yesterday, Oando sustained a foothold on the equities sector of the NSE, dominating other bluechip stocks on the gainers’ chart.

Meanwhile, following the recent announcement of the nullification of the SEC’s suspension of Oando’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), in a ruling presided over by Justice O A Musa, at the High Court of the FCT, the shares of the oil marketing company jumped from N3.18 kobo to N3.41 yesterday.

At the end of transactions, Oando sustained a foothold on the equities sector of the NSE, dominating other blue-chip stocks on the gainers’ chart. The stock led 21 others with 10 per cent appreciation, to close at N3.14 kobo.

Patrick Ajudua, a shareholder of the company, filed an action, challenging the suspension at the High Court of the FCT. Reacting to the development, the Coordinator, Sage Shareholders and Inc, Olowola Kehinde said: “This news is evidence that if given the opportunity, our shares could be doing considerably better on the capital market. Overnight, this positive ruling by the court has seen our share price go up by 10 per cent, imagine how much more it could have appreciated if given a favourable operating environment since 2017.

The SEC issue has evidently harmed our share price and we hope the regulator can see this and will look for a resolution that benefits shareholders”.

After the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dismissed Oando’s board in 2019 over allegations of poor corporate governance and management infractions, the company’s share price dropped by 20 per cent from N4.65 kobo on Friday 31 May 2019, the day of the announcement to N3.80 kobo on Monday 3 June 2019.

Speaking on the jump in share price, an Oando shareholder said: “For four years, Oando and SEC have been in a tussle and we the shareholders have been the ones on the receiving end. We bought these shares as investments and it is painful not being able to reap any benefits from this investment especially for an issue that can be resolved in a boardroom.

“We have pleaded with the SEC to allow the management team to focus on running the business rather than fighting in court but there has been no movement until the court ruling on Tuesday.”

– The Guardian